Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011

The Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011  will place a new regulatory duty upon SEPA to ensure reservoirs are monitored, inspected and maintained in accordance with the legislation to ensure their structural integrity. Currently this responsibility lies with local authorities.

SEPA will be required to assign a risk designation of either ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ to all sites covered by the legislation.  These designations will be based on the potential adverse consequences of an uncontrolled release of water and the probability of such a release.

Thereafter SEPA is required to ensure that each site is monitored and inspected by an engineer employed by the reservoir manager and, where necessary, that safety works are undertaken within stipulated timescales.